Episode 19 (15th February 1961)
Plot Annie takes Jack to task for his unkempt appearance as they are expecting Gordon's parents, Hilda and George to tea at 4.30pm. The best tea set and cutlery are brought out for the event. Joan worries that Billy will let her down with his conversation about his army experiences but Annie has already had a word with him and warned him. Billy comes downstairs in his new suit - an Italian style one. Joan refuses to let him come to the wedding in it and, annoyed, he storms out. Ena tells Esther that Christine and Joe are spending far too much time alone in No.13. She then upsets Florrie with talk of Harry marrying Eileen Hughes after seeing him moon over her when he lost the darts match. Joe helps Christine move the furniture around to better effect. Joe tells her he's been offered a job in Newcastle on £2 a week more but he's turned it down to be with her. They go upstairs to fix a cistern and Esther thinks they're up to no good when she calls. The Davies family arrive. Hilda annoys Annie by bragging about their car. Their tea is interrupted by the noise of a Welsh football crowd in the public where Concepta struggles alone behind the bar. Harry helps her by collecting glasses. Billy escapes the tea, tired of the conversation. Annie and Hilda try to outdo each other with their boasting. Doreen, Sheila and Norma shop for Valentine's cards, making fun of Dennis's showbusiness pretensions. Jack and George enjoy swapping their bowling stories while Annie gets out the family snapshots. Having to vent a fresh barrel, Jack shows George the cellar but there is an accident and they end up covered in best mild. Esther warns Christine that people are talking about her and Joe. Christine is furious at being the subject of gossip and tells Esther that she doesn't give a damn what people say. Cast Regular cast *Florrie Lindley - Betty Alberge *Christine Hardman - Christine Hargreaves *Harry Hewitt - Ivan Beavis *Esther Hayes - Daphne Oxenford *Dennis Tanner - Philip Lowrie *Annie Walker - Doris Speed *Jack Walker - Arthur Leslie *Billy Walker - Kenneth Farrington *Concepta Riley - Doreen Keogh *Ena Sharples - Violet Carson *Doreen - Angela Crow *Sheila - Eileen Mayers Guest cast *Joan Walker - June Barry *Joe Makinson - Brian Rawlinson *Hilda Davies - Doris Hare *George Davies - Reg Lever *Gordon Davies - Cavan Malone *Norma - Betty Davies Places *Rovers Return Inn - Public/Snug and back room *13 Coronation Street - Front room and hallway *Corner Shop Notes *This episode should have been broadcast live on Friday, 10th February, 1961 but a strike at Granada meant a programme change on that date and it was delayed until 15th February. The strike, which began at 4.20pm on Thursday 9th February, was in protest at a letter to seven men by an engineer in charge of them in which he expressed his disappointment that they refused to work an extra two-and-three-quarter hours on a play whose recording had overrun. The strike ended at 5.25pm the following day but the second episode of a film entitled Variety Jubilee and the scheduled episode of Coronation Street, both due to be transmitted that evening, were affected. In the place of the latter, Granada repeated Episode 1 to give, as a spokesman said, "a glimpse of how it started to viewers who missed the early episodes." The strike meant the permanent end to standard live transmissions of the programme (the next being Episode 4945 (8th December 2000), shown specially live to celebrate the 40th anniversary), and also enabled a scheduling change to be negotiated with the ITV network to be in place from Monday 6th March 1961 whereby the programme was always recorded and then transmitted on Mondays and Wednesdays. *This episode did not begin with the usual title sequence but instead displayed the title over the photocaption of the terraced streets of Ordsall, frequently used for the closing credits in the early 1960s. *Arthur Leslie makes an error and refers to Joan Walker as "June", confusing the character with the actress June Barry. *The wall of the Rovers back room which leads to the kitchen is shown in this episode to be a window looking into the street instead. The kitchen is supposedly be somewhere off the hallway leading from the public and there is a second doorway in the back room a few feet from the usual entrance which leads to the cellar, instead of it being through the gents' toilets as established later on. *A member of the Welsh football supporters in the public of the Rovers is uncredited although he has a line of dialogue. *Despite transmission being delayed for several days, the script was not amended and several characters are shown to be buying and writing Valentine's Day cards in preparation for 14th February. *''TV Times'': No synopsis appeared in the magazine between Episode 3 (16th December 1960) and Episode 25 (6th March 1961). *Viewing Figures: First UK broadcast - 5,338,000 homes (chart placing unknown). Episode 019